Social Capital and Fear of Crime in Adolescence: A Multilevel Study

The global development of community psychology as reflected in the American Journal of Community Psychology

This commentary presents a virtual special issue on the global growth of community psychology (CP), particularly, but not exclusively, as reflected in the American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP). CP exists in at least 50 countries all over the world, in many of those for over 25 years. Yet, aside from several early Israeli articles, AJCP rarely published work from or about countries outside the US and Canada until the early 2000s, when the number of international articles began to rise sharply. The focus of CP developed differently in different continents. CP in Australia and New Zealand initially followed North America's emphasis on improving social service systems, but has since focused more on environmental and indigenous cultural and decolonial issues that are as salient in those countries as in North America, but have drawn much more attention. CP came later to most of Asia, where it also tended to follow the North American path, but starting in Japan, India, and Hong Kong and now in China and elsewhere, it is establishing its own way. The other two global hotspots for CP for over 40 years have been Europe and Latin America. The level and focus of CP in Europe varies in each country, with some focused on applied developmental psychology and/or community services and others advancing critical and liberation psychology. CP in Latin America evolved from social psychology, but like CP in Sub-Saharan Africa, is also more explicitly political due to a history of political oppression, social activism, and the limitations of individualistic psychology to focus on social change, overcoming poverty, and interventions by (not just for) community members. Despite those differences, CP literature over the past 23 years suggests an increasingly common interest in social justice, multinational collaborations, and decoloniality. There is still a need for more truly (bidirectional) cross-cultural, comparative work for mutual learning, sharing of ideas, methods, and intervention practices, and for CP to develop in countries and communities throughout the globe where it could have the greatest impact.

Feeling unsafe as a source of psychological distress in early adolescence

RATIONALE

Symptoms of psychological distress at an early age have proved to undermine adolescents' academic achievements, as well as their personal and social well-being. The literature acknowledges a wide range of risk factors that cause psychological distress, while at the same time emphasizing the role of social support as a protective factor. On the other hand, feelings of unsafety as a possible source of psychological distress have been so far largely overlooked in the literature.

OBJECTIVE

The present study explores the consequences of a specific stressor (feeling unsafe) and asks whether social support can act as a moderator in the association between subjective unsafety and psychological distress.

METHODS

A multi-group structural equation model was run with a sample of 2876 young adolescents aged 10-12 enrolled in educational centers in the city of Barcelona, Spain.

RESULTS

The results show that direct exposure to sibling violence at home and bullying at school are significant predictors of psychological distress, regardless of biological sex. The hypothesis of a negative correlation of subjective perceptions of unsafety on psychological distress is also supported, although neighborhood-based risk factors emerge as a greater source of distress for females than for males. The involvement of supportive adults is associated with lower levels of perceptions of unsafety and distress in both groups, but girls seem capable of drawing more effectively on alternative sources of support, specifically their peers, to enhance their safety at school and in the neighborhood.

CONCLUSION

Overall, gender differences in our model overlap with socio-environmental inequalities (low income, exposure to violence and conflictual public spaces), thus suggesting that an intervention into the root causes of these inequalities could contribute to lowering psychological distress in early adolescence.

[Association between social capital and bullying among adolescents aged between 15 and 19: relations between the school and social environment]

The scope of this study was to analyze the association between social capital and bullying among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, in high schools in the Greater Vitória Metropolitan Area in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was carried out at the school base, with a sample of 2293 students, stratified by municipality of school location. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using two instruments: Integrated Questionnaire to Measure Social Capital of the World Bank and adapted versions of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. The results showed that victims of bullying were more likely to present low level of cognitive social capital (p = 0.001; OR = 1.9, 95%CI = 1.29-2.68), underlying (p = 0.002; OR = 1.7, 95%CI = 1.20-2.38) and total (p < 0.001; OR = 1.80, 95%CI = 1.32-2.59). Bullying offenders were associated with low levels of cognitive social capital (p < 0.001; OR = 3.2, 95%CI = 2.34-4.44) and total (p = 0.042; OR = 1.7, 95%CI = 1.24-2.27). High levels of social capital are related to the reduction of bullying and victimization behaviors. Therefore, healthy social relationships should be promoted in the spaces of mutual coexistence of adolescents to stimulate other positive reactions in school environments.

Criminal victimization, cognitive social capital and mental health in an urban region in Germany: a path analysis

PURPOSE

There is ample evidence that experiencing a criminal victimization is associated with lasting emotional problems among victims. To date, the mechanisms behind this association are not well understood. Based on the theoretical assumptions derived from a transactional stress-appraisal and coping model this study analyses the role of cognitive social capital (SC) in the association between criminal victimization (CV) and victims' mental health.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, computer-aided telephone survey including a representative sample of 3005 persons from three German cities was conducted. Respondents were asked about CV during their lifetime, cognitive SC, perceived victimization risk, perceived safety and perceived ability to prevent victimization. The PHQ-4 was used as a measure of anxiety and depression. The data were analyzed by means of logistic regression models and a path model controlled for sociodemographic characteristics.

RESULTS

Lifetime CV with any type of crime was associated with a clinically relevant increased risk of mental disorder (PHQ-4 ≥ 9; OR 1.8, p ≤ 0.05). Path analyses revealed that the direct association between CV and PHQ-4 (β = 0.454; p ≤ 0.01) was significantly diminished by cognitive SC (β =  - 0.373; p ≤ 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that cognitive SC is an individual resilience factor against negative experiences related to CV and that it holds the potential to diminish negative mental health consequences of CV. Further research should explore to what extent an enhancement of cognitive SC can help to prevent anxiety and depression among crime victims.

School Sense of Community, Teacher Support, and Students' School Safety Perceptions

This study examined the association between two characteristics of school climate (sense of community and teacher support, measured both at the individual and at the school level) and students' feelings of being unsafe at school. The study involved a sample of 49,638 students aged 10-18 years who participated in the 2010-2012 California Healthy Kids Survey. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), our findings revealed that, at the individual level, students perceiving higher levels of sense of community and teacher support at school were less likely to feel unsafe within the school environment. At the school level, sense of community was negatively associated with unsafe feelings, whereas there was no association between school-level teacher support and feelings of being unsafe at school.

Income Inequality and Adolescent Gambling Severity: Findings from a Large-Scale Italian Representative Survey

Background: Studies have shown that problems related to adult gambling have a geographical and social gradient. For instance, adults experiencing gambling-related harms live in areas of greater deprivation; are unemployed, and have lower income. However, little is known about the impact of socioeconomic inequalities on adolescent problem gambling. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the contextual influences of income inequality on at-risk or problem gambling (ARPG) in a large-scale nationally representative sample of Italian adolescents. A secondary aim was to analyze the association between perceived social support (from family, peers, teachers, and classmates) and ARPG. Methods: Data from the 2013-2014 Health Behavior in School-aged Children Survey (HBSC) Study was used for cross-sectional analyses of ARPG. A total of 20,791 15-year-old students completed self-administered questionnaires. Region-level data on income inequality (GINI index) and overall wealth (GDP per capita) were retrieved from the National Institute of Statistics (Istat). The data were analyzed using the multi-level logistic regression analysis, with students at the first level and regions at the second level. Results: The study demonstrated a North-South gradient for the prevalence of ARPG, with higher prevalence of ARPG in the Southern/Islands/Central Regions (e.g., 11% in Sicily) than in Northern Italy (e.g., 2% in Aosta Valley). Students in regions of high-income inequality were significantly more likely than those in regions of low-income inequality to be at-risk or problem gamblers (following adjustment for sex, family structure, family affluence, perceived social support, and regionale wealth). Additionally, perceived social support from parents and teachers were negatively related to ARPG. Conclusions: Income inequality may have a contextual influence on ARPG. More specifically, living in regions of highest income inequality appeared to be a potential factor that increases the likelihood of becoming an at-risk or problem gambler. Findings of the study suggest that wealth distribution within societies affected by economic policies may indirectly have an influence adolescent gambling behaviors.